Women's Water Polo

Michigan Dunks Pomona-Pitzer, Will Play for Fifth at NCAA Championship

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The No. 5 seed University of Michigan water polo team surged past No. 8 seed Pomona-Pitzer, 11-3, on Saturday (May 15) in the consolation bracket of the 2010 NCAA Championship at the Aztec Aquaplex.

Fifth-year senior Brittany May (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) made nine saves, two shorthanded and one on a five-meter penalty, in 16 minutes in the cage. Freshman Alex Adamson (Coronado, Calif./Coronado), who played the first half, made five stops on six shots and tallied two helpers.

Junior Lauren Orth (Poway, Calif./Poway) scored her second hat trick of the tournament, including two five-meter penalties, in a four-point game. Junior Cara Reitz (Miami, Fla./Gulliver) excelled at both ends of the pool, scoring twice and notching a game-high four steals.

After a quiet first period in which the goalies controlled the scoreboard, Michigan unloaded six straight goals sandwiched between Pomona-Pitzer markers in the second. Tied at 1-1, sophomore Meagan Cobb (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) sparked the U-M offense with a quick backhander at two meters. U-M scored five more times in the next five minutes as freshman Lauren Colton (Tustin, Calif./Tesoro) took over the game, having a hand in three of the next four goals. Colton came out of the water at two meters and slammed the ball into the goal. After a tally from junior Alison Mantel (Miami, Fla./Gulliver), Colton sent Reitz in on a breakaway, where the Wolverine captain deposited the marker. Orth then converted a five-meter penalty, drawn by Colton, 50 seconds later before Cobb ended the run with a juke at five meters and a shot under the bar.

Michigan carried a 7-2 lead into the break after a Sage Hens goal just before the end of the second period.

Junior Sarah Roberts (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) scored 13 seconds into the third frame, turning off a defender at two meters. May, who came in to start the period, came up with two shorthanded saves in the first four minutes of action. Freshman Kiki Golden (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) then connected with Orth early in the final frame on a long pass. Finally, senior Leah Robertson (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) benefitted from an outlet pass from May for a counter-attack goal before an Orth five-meter toss capped the scoring for the Maize and Blue.

The Wolverines will face No. 3 seed and top-ranked UCLA in the fifth-place game at the 2010 NCAA Championship on Sunday (May 16) at 1:35 p.m. PDT. Follow the game on the MGoBlue.com via live blog or listen to live audio at aztecchannel.sdsu.edu.